News at the Centre for the History of Medicine
Building the NHS
Congratulations to Ed Devane on the successful defence of his PhD thesis ‘Building the NHS: Planning, Publics and Britain’s New State Healthcare Facilities, 1945-74’, examined on 21st June 2022 by Professor Alex Mold (LSHTM) and Professor Hilary Marland (Warwick).
Further good news is Ed’s appointment to a post in the Department of Health and Social Care where he can put his historical understanding of the NHS into action!
New Publication: Posters, Protests and Prescriptions
Exciting news this month sees the Manchester University Press publication of Posters, Protests and Prescriptions, a collection of essays in relation to the Centre’s Cultural History of the NHS project, edited by former CHM members and researchers on this project Jenny Crane and Jane Hand.
And more good news is that this book is available through open access due to the support of the Wellcome Trust.
Ed Devane co-authors Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) briefing on childhood obesity
Ed DeVane, a Wellcome Trust doctoral student in the Centre for the History of Medicine has co-authored Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) briefing on childhood obesity which has been published this week. POST produces impartial, non-partisan, and peer-reviewed briefings, designed to make scientific research accessible to the UK Parliament.
The briefing finds that obesity is complex and driven by multiple and interacting behavioural, social and environmental factors. It also considers that many stakeholders now argue that the UK Government’s current focus on individual behaviours, improving diet and restricting unhealthy food and drink marketing is insufficient to halve childhood obesity prevalence by 2030. Successful reductions in childhood obesity may require a broader set of policy initiatives that span educational settings, town planning and health services.
Ed is currently writing a PhD on the history of healthcare planning. Building the NHS: Planning, Publics and Britain’s New State Healthcare Facilities, 1945-74